Casimir-Polder-induced Rydberg macrodimers

We theoretically investigate Rydberg atom pair potentials of Rb atoms in front of a perfectly conducting plate. The pair potentials are perturbed by both the Casimir-Polder potential acting on a single atom and the scattering contribution to the interatomic interaction. In contrast to the pair potentials in free space, at atomsurface distances d(s) less than or similar to 4 mu m, avoided crossings appear. In the associated potential wells that are entirely due to dispersion interactions with the surface, there exist vibrational bound states, i.e., Rydberg macrodimers, with ground-state energies of up to E = -68 MHz and radial expectation values of the order of several mu m.